Biographies

Mr. Christopher (Chris) H. Boulle is Non-Executive Independent Chairman of the Board of the Company. Chris is a commercial, corporate finance, tax and trust attorney. His experience as a non-executive director of listed companies spans more than a decade. He currently serves as a director of companies listed on the JSE and is also trustee of various trusts, including the ADvTECH Limited Share Incentive Trust. He was appointed as a director in March 2013. In 2015, he was appointed chairman of the board.

Mr. Roy J. Douglas is Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director of the Company. Roy brings 25 years of local and international senior management experience to the group. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, and an MBA, Roy has held senior executive roles in various industries that have honed his skills in strategy, marketing, business development and general management. His track record includes leadership positions in Nampak Limited, Deloitte (Atlanta, USA), House of Fraser Limited (UK) and Unilever SA. He joined ADvTECH in December 2012 as chief operating officer of the tertiary division and led the successful turnaround of the division. He joined the board as an executive director and took over the reins as chief executive officer in November 2015.

Mr. Jean-Didier R. Oesch serves as Group Finance Director, Executive Director of the Company. Didier qualified as a chartered accountant in 1991, after completing his articles at Betty & Dickson. He gained considerable experience with the Nampak group in various financial positions, culminating in a four-year term in Europe as Financial Director of Nampak Plastics Europe. Didier joined ADvTECH as group financial manager. He was appointed a member of Exco and group financial director in 2005.

Mr. D. Lenn Honey serves as Chief Executive Officer - Resourcing Division of the Company. Lenn’s first encounter with ADvTECH was during the sale of Rosebank College in 1996. After selling Rosebank College to ADvTECH, he managed several tertiary businesses within the group. Lenn was appointed head of the resourcing division in 2003, then in 2012 he was promoted to CEO of the division. Lenn began his career in the motor vehicle industry, later moving to Hunt Lascaris and then Western Platinum Mine as a productivity improvement management consultant, prior to buying Rosebank College. He holds a BCom Honours in Business Administration (Rhodes University) and an MBA in Marketing (University of Hull).

Mr. Steven van Zyl is Chief Information Officer of the Company. Steven was appointed CIO of the group in 2006. Before joining ADvTECH, he held the position of group IT executive at Murray & Roberts. He has worked in various industries across Africa, gaining extensive experience in his field. In his various roles, Steven has ensured that business was able to leverage off technology investments and trends, thereby assisting companies to conduct business through technology in different ways to enhance operations and raise business performance. He attained a BCom in Finance and Administration in 1995 at the University of Natal.

Dr. Felicity Coughlan is Group Academic Director of the Company. Felicity was appointed director of The Independent Institute of Education (IIE) in 2005 and promoted to ADvTECH’s group academic director in 2016. Preceding ADvTECH, Felicity joined Rhodes University in 1991 as head of department and then associate dean in 2001. She was appointed deputy registrar at Wits University in 2001 and director of strategic planning in 2003. Felicity obtained an Honours degree in Social Work and Psychology (Rhodes University), Masters in Sociology (University of London) and a Doctorate in Social Work (UNISA).

Mr. Jaco Lotz is International Business Development Executive of the Company. Jaco joined ADvTECH as chief financial officer of the schools division in 2007. In 2010, he was appointed MD of CrawfordSchoolsTM, and in 2015 also of Abbotts College. In 2016, he was appointed International business development executive for the group. Before joining ADvTECH, Jaco held the position of group financial manager at Magna FS from 2003 to 2007. He attained a CA(SA), BCompt Honours & CTA (UNISA); BCom Accounting, BA Honours in Psychology; and a BA in Theology (University of Pretoria).

Mr. Vongani Mbhokota serves as Group Properties Executive of the Company. Vongani Mbhokota joined the group in November 2016 as the properties executive. He has extensive experience with acquisitions, property development and the ongoing management of both owned and leased properties in the commercial, retail and hotel property sectors. Vongani has held senior roles within Atterbury Property Development, Liberty Properties, Investec and Group 5 Building. Vongani holds a degree in Quantity Surveying and an MBA in Project Finance (UNISA). He has professional registration in Quantity Surveying and Professional Construction Project Management (PrCPM).

Ms. Donna Dickson is no longer Group Company Secretary of the Company, effective March 31, 2019. She holds BCom (Law) UNISA, CIS Professional Postgraduate qualification in Company Secretarial and Governance practice (CSSA).

Dr. Jacqueline S. Chimhanzi, Ph.D. is Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company. Jacqueline is the CEO of Africa Leadership Institute. She is a seasoned strategist with some 15 years’ experience as both an academic and a practitioner. She is also a keen Africa-watcher and was recognised by Forbes Africa magazine as one of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa in 2012 – women under 45 shaping the narrative of Africa’s rising. She is a fellow of the Pan-African Archbishop Tutu Leadership Programme run by the African Leadership Institute (AFLI) at Oxford University and a member of the Institute of Directors in Southern Africa (IoDSA). She previously led strategy consulting teams and was also Lead: Africa Desk at Deloittes and senior strategist at the IDC. Jacqueline lectured at the University of Wales (UK) and joined the board in January 2017.

Prof. Brenda M. Gourley is Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company. Brenda is an accountant by profession and has a long career in business and academia. She was previously vice chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and vice chancellor and chief executive officer of The Open University (UK). Over the years, she has held a range of positions on various boards and trusts in different parts of the world, in both the public and private sectors. She has received recognition in the form of prizes, fellowships and awards as well as honorary degrees from 14 universities on four continents. Most recently, she received the 2014 UNISA Chancellor’s Calabash Award as an Outstanding Educator in recognition of her contribution to higher education, especially in open and distance learning. Professor Gourley joined the board in 2008.

Dr. Jane M. Hofmeyr, Ph.D., is Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company. Jane holds a PhD in education policy studies and is currently an independent education and development consultant. She has 30 years of experience and research in public and private education. She launched and managed the Education Policy Unit of the National Business Initiative, followed by 15 years heading the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA), where she played a pivotal role in the development of the association. She marketed ISASA vigorously and established its brand while increasing ISASA’s human and physical resources. This reinforced ISASA’s attractiveness to schools as a service provider, and established its reputation as an association of first choice. Jane joined the board in January 2017.

Prof. Jonathan D. Jansen, Ph.D., is Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company. Jonathan was rector and vice chancellor of the University of the Free State and president of the South African Institute of Race Relations. He holds honorary doctorate of Education degrees from the University of Edinburgh (Scotland), Cleveland State University (USA) and University of Vermont (USA). He is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association and the Academy of Science for the Developing World. He has received international recognition, including awards for the Education Africa Lifetime Achiever Award (New York), Spendlove Award (University of California) and a prestigious book award from the British Academy for the Social Sciences and Humanities. He is a prominent author and speaker on educational matters around the world. Jonathan joined the board in 2004.

Mr. Stafford C. Masie is Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company. Stafford commenced his education in South Africa before undertaking studies in computer science at Tel Aviv University, Israel. He has been involved in the IT industry for nearly 20 years, and was associated with pre-eminent IT companies such as Dimension Data, Novell and Google. His passion for technology led to him holding senior executive positions at Novell USA and subsequently at Novell South Africa, and being responsible for establishing Google’s presence in South Africa. After leaving Google in 2009, he established his own business and is now an entrepreneur with a particular interest in early stage start-up businesses in the IT industry. He is active as a business school lecturer, participant in several radio broadcasts and speaker on the influence of technology on modern day life, society and education. Stafford joined the board in January 2014.

Mr. Keith DM Warburton is Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company. Keith is a CA who has obtained some 30 years’ experience in commerce and management since qualifying as a chartered accountant at Arthur Andersen. His broad experience includes the banking, steel and manufacturing industries. Since 1990, he has been in the retail industry, with his latest term being as chief operating officer of Clicks Group Ltd. Keith has been involved in a number of large enterprises, with experience in a number of JSE-listed entities. He joined the board in July 2015.

Mr. Jens Yahya Zimmermann is Independent Non-Executive Director of the Company. Mr Zimmermann holds a MBA from Harvard Business School, Boston. He has held numerous positions in businesses operating in various sectors including education, healthcare, energy and real estate in developed and emerging markets. His work experience includes consulting, private equity and investment partnerships. He is currently the Managing Partner and Co-founder of Halo Investments in Dubai.

Prof. Shirley A. Zinn is Independent Non-Executive Director of Advtech Ltd. Shirley has held several leadership roles in HR management within the public (SARS) and private sectors (more specifically, the banking industry). She now consults to various large organisations on a variety of matters relating to the optimisation of HR strategy, transformation and leadership development. She is a director and trustee of a number of companies and trusts, including the Boston Consulting Group, Nedbank Eyethu Community Trust, Sygnia Asset Management, Tuesday Consulting and the chair of the Starfish Greatheart Foundation. She is also an extraordinary professor at the University of Pretoria. In 2015, Shirley published an inspirational book about her own personal and professional life. Shirley joined the board in October 2012.

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